As can be seen from the average highs and lows, The Sea Ranch is never very hot or very cold for very long. The Pacific Ocean moderates our temperature extremely well. The highest temperature on record here is 97.0 °F back in September 1950 and the coldest temperature ever recorded was 20.0 °F in December 1987. Over the entire year our average high temperature is 67.0°F and our average low temperature is 47.5 °F. Our warmest month is September which is a little different from most other places in the country and a lot of people think that fall is the prettiest time of the year here. January and December are the coldest months, but snow is very rare. Long time residents remember a light dusting of snow back in the eighties and we frequently get moderate frost at night and early in the morning during the winter months. We receive an average of about 43 inches of rain every year with most of it coming during the winter storms. Rarely does it storm for more than two or three days at a time before we get a spell of sunshine.

The Sea Ranch has a casual lifestyle and that fact combined with the mild, but changeable weather patterns dictates that most people dress in layers. Evenings and early mornings can be chilly so a sweater or light jacket is useful, but is usually shed by mid-day when the temperature warms up nicely. Much of The Sea Ranch is consciously left to nature so a lot of walking is done on dirt paths. Good shoes are an important item of apparel here. Another useful accoutrement is a good flashlight. We treasure our night sky and keep outside lighting to a minimum so most folks have a flashlight handy at home and in the car. (A neighborhood dinner party will find the hats and coats near the door and on the floor nearby will usually be a row of flashlights.) A delightful part of living here is the opportunity to step outside your door and go for a walk in nature. If that appeals to you, we recommend a good hat. It need not be stylish, but it should be practical and a broad brim is useful.

The weather in other parts of our coastal area is very similar to what we enjoy here in The Sea Ranch, but each specific place has it's own microclimate - even here on the ranch, a subject that we should discuss when you have a moment.